1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of sod harvesters, and more specifically, to a device for squeezing laterally (or compacting) the first sod roll in a group of sod rolls on a horizontal conveyor before they are picked up by a sod carrier and deposited onto a pallet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some countries, the transport width of vehicles hauling sod rolls is tightly regulated. Failure to comply with such regulations may result in the imposition of fines. Even in countries that do not regulate transport width as tightly, the appearance of the sod rolls on the pallets is an important factor in salability. The present invention addresses both of these problems by compacting (or squeezing) the first sod rod in a group of sod rolls as they are picked up by the sod carrier and deposited onto a pallet prior to transportation. This act of squeezing the first sod roll ensures that the outward-facing sod rolls on the pallet are compact and neat in appearance.
To the best of the inventor's knowledge, there are no devices in existence or previously in existence that provide the same functionality as the present invention, nor are there any prior art references that describe such devices. Examples of patents that address various other types of improvements to sod harvesters include U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,239 (Hutchison 1990); U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,760 (Rosen, 1997); U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,063 (Tvetene et al., 2001); U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,027 (Tvetene et al., 2002); U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,864 (Tvetene et al., 2004); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,318 (Tvetene et al., 2004). U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,701 (Moses, 1977) involves a dispensing system apparatus for storing and dispensing cylindrical objects.